Robin Szolkowy
Robin Szolkowy (born 17 July 1979 in Greifswald, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, East Germany) is a German pair skater. With partner Aliona Savchenko, he is the 2008 and 2009 World pair champion, 2007 World pair bronze medalist, a three-time European Pair Champion (2007-2009). Personal life Szolkowy's mother, a nurse, met his father, a Tanzanian medical doctor, when the latter studied in Greifswald. Although Robin has seen photos of his father, the two have never met.http://www.nbcolympics.com/athletes/5092356/detail.html Szolkowy began skating when he was 4 years old. Originally a singles skater, he switched to pairs when he was 16. Career Savchenko is Szolkowy's third pair skating partner. His first partner, Johanna Otto, was followed in 1997 by Claudia Rauschenbach, daughter of two-time World gold medalist and 1980 Olympic champion Anett Pötzsch. Rauschenbach and Szolkowy won the German Junior National pair title three times and the German National senior pair gold medal in 2001, but never placed higher than ninth at Junior Worlds. Their coach was Monika Scheibe. After Rauschenbach retired, Szolkowy did not find a new skating partner for a year and a half. During the forced hiatus, he participated in synchronized skating in an effort to maintain some of his skills. In May 2003, Ingo Steuer brought Aliona Savchenko, the 2000 World Junior Pairs Champion (with Stanislav Morozov), from her native Ukraine to Chemnitz for what would be a successful try-out with Szolkowy. Three months later, Savchenko relocated to Germany and the pair began training in earnest. In 2004, during their first season together, Savchenko and Szolkowy won the German National pair title. The two made their international debut as a team at the start of the 2004/2005 season. They again won the German National pair title, placed fourth at Europeans and sixth at the 2005 World Championships. During the 2005/2006 season, Savchenko and Szolkowy won their third German National title, as well as Grand Prix Skate Canada, where they won both the short program and free skate. They placed second at Europeans, third at the Grand Prix Final, and sixth at Worlds. Savchenko was granted German citizenship on 29 December 2005, allowing the pair to compete in the 2006 Winter Olympic Games, where they finished sixth. In March, 2007, Savchenko and Szolkowy earned their first World Championship medal, a bronze, earning a new personal best for their short program, 67.65 points. While winning their first European pair title earlier that year, the team set new personal bests for total points (199.39) and for their free skate program (134.01), set to the music from the soundtrack of the film "The Mission." They also won their fourth German National pair title. At the end of the 2006/2007 season, Savchenko and Szolkowy ranked third on the International Skating Union's World Standings. At the begining of the 2007-2008 season, Savchenko and Szolkowy competed in the 2007 Skate Canada, in the 2007 Cup of Russia and in the 2007 NHK Trophy, winning gold in all of those but the Cup of Russia in which they placed second to Dan Zhang and Hao Zhang. At the Grand Prix Final in December 2007, Savchenko and Szolkowy scored 72.14 in the short program, setting a new world record, and a season's best 127.09 points in the free skate, 199.23 overall, to win the Pair title. At the end of 2007, they were ranked first in the World Pair standings. In January 2008, Savchenko and Szolkowy went to the European Pair Championships with the aim to defend their title, which they did. They finished first in both short (70.36) and long program (132.03), scoring a new personal best in their total segment score (202.39). At the 2008 Worlds they won their first World Pairs title with 202.86 points. Savchenko and Szolkowy began the 2008-2009 season by competing in the 2008 Skate America and in the 2008 Trophée Eric Bompard, and winning both events. However, they finished third in the 2008-2009 Grand Prix Final, in which they had a seasons's best of 70.14 in the short program but placed third in the long program with a score of 114.95. They won their third consecutive pairs title at the 2009 European Figure Skating Championships. Savchenko and Szolkowy placed second in the short program with a score of 66.64 points, 2.98 behind Maria Mukhortova & Maxim Trankov. Their free skate earned a season best score of 132.43, placing first in that segment of the competition. They won the competition overal with a score of 199.07, 16.30 points ahead of silver medalists Yuko Kawaguchi & Alexander Smirnov. They succesfully defended their World title at the 2009 World Figure Skating Championships, winning the short program with 72.30 points, and the free skate with 131.18 points, for a combined score of 203.78. They placed nearly 17 points ahead of silver medalists Dan Zhang and Hao Zhang. Programs 2005/2006 Short Program Music: Souvenir De Chine by Jean-Michel Jarre 2005/2006 Free Skate Music: 1492: Conquest of Paradise (album)'' (soundtrack) by Vangelis 2005/2006 Exhibition Music: Hey Ya by Outkast 2006/2007 Short Program Music: Once Upon a Time in Mexico by Brian Setzer 2006/2007 Free Skate Music: ''The Mission'' (soundtrack) by Ennio Morricone 2006/2007 Exhibition Music:Feeling Good by Michael Bubble and Somewhere (soundtrack) from West Side Story 2007/2008 Short Program Music: Asoka (Bollywood movie soundtrack) by Anu Milak 2007/2008 Free Skate Music: L'Oiseau (from Cirque du Soleil) by Rene Dupere 2007/2008 Exhibition Music: Feeling Good by Michael Bubble, Leningrad by Chris de Burgh 2008/2009 Short Program Music: Lost in Space (soundtrack) by Bruce Broughton 2008/2009 Free Skate Music: Schindler's List (soundtrack) by John Williams & Adagio by Tomaso Albinoni 2008/2009 Exhibition Music: Leningrad by Chris de Burgh, We've Got Tonight by Kenny Rogers&Sheena Easton Competitive highlights (with Savchenko) (with Rauschenbach) * J = Junior level (with Otto) References External links Category:German figure skaters